Tag Archive | "Little Cedar Creek"

Flying rapidly close to the surface of shallow water in Little Cedar Creek headwaters, an Arrowhead Spiketail dragonfly guards a territory. Males fly back and forth over a section of stream protecting areas where water flows over a muck bottom. A female lays her eggs in the muck where water is shallow enough for her to reach her long abdomen into the soft bottom. She needs seeping springs that feed streams in forested habitat.

The Arrowhead Spiketail has not been collected extensively in Michigan. It lives in eastern North America. The Michigan Odonata Survey documents distribution evidence with specimens in the University of Michigan research museum. Interestingly, no specimens are vouchered to document its presence for our area of the state.

I have only noticed it when hiking in Porcupine Mountains State Park and at Ody Brook Nature Sanctuary.

It is a beautiful dragonfly with a black abdomen and bright yellow arrowhead spots on the top of the abdomen.

Many species of dragonflies appear in abundance during summer. A walk through a field will provide a glimpse at fast-moving young adults. Many remain on the wing making it difficult to recognize identification details. They are busy removing flying insects. Thank them for making your walk more pleasant by eating insects that might eat part of you. Some dragonflies eat their weight in mosquitos in one hour.

Young adults are often found far from water. When sexually ready to mate, they head to a species-specific water type of lake, pond, river, bog, swamp, stream, or seep where young develop. Each species experiences a similar development with variations that help it thrive in its specialized nature niche.

The mating process for dragonflies is unique. Insects have three body parts–head, thorax, and abdomen. The male transfers sperm from the end of his abdomen to a pocket near the attachment of his abdomen and thorax. Using claspers at the end of his abdomen, the male grabs the female by the head. When the female is held firmly by the head, she bends her abdomen in a loop to where the sperm packet is stored. A penis in the pocket on the male scoops out any sperm packets or pushes them aside to ensure his sperm sires offspring. Some dragonflies stay attached while females lay eggs and some release them but fly nearby to keep other males away. I do not know spiketail methods for protecting females from being mated by other males. Does he stay attached or fly nearby?

Female dragonflies lay eggs in appropriate habitat. Some species skim the water surface dropping eggs that sink to the bottom. Others lay eggs in vegetation that drop into water when hatched. Some lay eggs on land that will be carried into water during flooding. Each species has different egg laying techniques.

When the egg hatches, a small naiad begins its life feeding on other stream life. Some crawl on the stream bottom while others remain stationary and buried in bottom sediments waiting for food to drift to them. They are predators eating aquatic organisms. If found, the dragonfly becomes prey for fish and other organisms.

To survive, they are camouflaged and remain hidden. Their gills are tucked inside their rear end so they suck oxygen rich water in their butt to pass over the gills. On the underside of the head is the deadly flat feeding structure that unfolds with great speed. At its end are pinchers that grab prey and the flap folds to bring the prey to chewing mouth parts where the food is dismembered and swallowed. Some naiad larvae develop into adults in one year while other species take many years.

Dragonflies have three developmental stages; egg, naiad, and adult. They have incomplete metamorphosis as opposed to complete like butterflies that have egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult. The naiad sheds its exoskeleton many times as it grows and finally when developed enough, it will climb from the water on vegetation where it emerges from its final naiad skeleton. It squeezes from the exoskeleton by arching backward from the shell-like covering. Its adult legs grasp the plant to hold tightly while it pumps fluid into expanding wings. When wings dry, it begins flight, feeds, and mates to complete the life cycle that begins a new generation of dragonflies.

Walking through the big woods this week, I felt like a kid in a candy shop. It was exciting to experience wonder after wonder. It is a time when winter seems to linger and spring has not arrived but there is more occurring than the senses can grasp.

Song Sparrows are active at brush piles along the forest edge and in wetland shrubs. Just a couple weeks ago, I was seeing a dozen species of birds daily and now it is two dozen. Sandhill Cranes announce evening, Canada Geese fly over, and Wood Ducks are swimming in Little Cedar Creek.

An American Woodcock flew in for its evening dance, saw me, and kept going. The next night a Great Horned Owl was hooting from forest edge and probably kept the woodcock from showing itself. A pair of Red-tailed Hawks soared over the Big Woods and power line clearing by day.

A Turkey Vulture on clean-up duty has been soaring over the highway by Ody Brook’s entrance looking for the dead opossum and muskrat that I reported killed on the road last week. The carcasses are not obvious among the roadside vegetation but the vulture can smell them at great distance.

Two Pileated Woodpeckers feasted at an old ash tree stump. My friend, Greg, was coming to visit and I told him about the woodpeckers at the driveway’s edge. He arrived, stopped, and watched as one woodpecker worked. When the woodpecker left, we looked to see what was being eaten. Termites.

On a smaller scale, Skunk Cabbages are blooming on the floodplain. They have a hood covering minute flowers. The hood protects this first flowering plant of the year from freeze damage. The hood wraps around an inner spike that holds many flowers. The spike with flowers is called a spadix and the hood is called a spathe. Small flies and crawling insects move into this temporary shelter where they find protection from being frozen. The plant generates heat that keeps the temperature above freezing in the spathe. Heat protects plant tissues and the variety of creatures in the hood. The benefit to the plant for providing lodging is that insects pick up pollen and carry it to other Skunk Cabbage flowers.

Other flowering plants already blooming at Ody Brook by mid March are Silver Maple trees, Speckled Alder, and Whitlow-grass. Whitlow-grass, a mustard, has a small rosette of leaves found on exposed bare ground. It is only about one inch across the radiating ring of leaves. Small white mustard flowers about the size of a pinhead ensure reproduction. The plant and its flowers are so small that few people notice them but hundreds are currently in bloom.

It is good to carry a small magnifying hand lens to examine the near microscopic world of life in wetland, field, shrubland, and forest.

Bluebirds still have not arrived to inspect nest boxes cleaned and readied. They arrive before wrens to claim bird houses. When wrens arrive, they enter and kill bluebirds or destroy eggs to use the box themselves. If houses are kept in open areas away from shrubbery and forest edge, it is less likely wrens will invade.

I place two bird houses within 15 feet of another. Tree Swallows often claim one and keep other swallows from nesting that close. The swallows do not mind having bluebirds as neighbors. The bluebirds, so to speak, have a swallow guard that protects them from other swallows that try to take the second nest box.

Nature niches have a greater variety and abundance of wondrous special treats than candy in a candy shop.

Walk Ody Brook Nature Sanctuary with the Michigan Botanical Club on September 13 at 2 p.m. or with the River City Wild Ones on Sept 20 at 1:30. The local conservation clubs will explore the sanctuary in search for plants, animals, and their ecological requirements while enjoying the company of nature enthusiasts.

This will be a great introduction to a couple different nature clubs and great people where many will share their knowledge and excitement for things natural and wild.

Ody Brook is managed to enhance nature’s biodiversity to support a healthy and sustainable human community. The sanctuary is located in the headwaters for Little Cedar Creek south of Cedar Springs on Northland Drive across the road from V&V Nursery. Come explore nature and meet nature enthusiasts from local conservation groups.

Meet and park at V&V Nursery. Spend some time at the nursery considering fall selection specials on plants prior to winter dormancy. V&V Nursery helps area residents beautify yards and lives. We will start the field trips from the nursery parking area. We appreciate V&V’s willingness to allow parking. Parking space is not available at Ody Brook Nature Sanctuary.

Over 116 bird species, 24 mammals, 11 herps and 52 butterfly species have been documented along with 250 species of plants. Dragonflies dart with beauty as they feed on aerial insects. They lay eggs in Little Cedar Creek where naiads spend months to years growing to the adult stage. Trout feed and utilize the headwaters in spring.

We will encounter other beautiful insects that are active in the fall. Snowy Tree Crickets, katydids, beetles, colorful flies, and various true bugs are expected. This is an opportunity to view a variety of life and to receive help with identification.

Fall flowers provide nutrition for wildlife while plants focus on seed production for their own species survival. Come learn to recognize plant families and species common to our neighborhoods. Both field trips will be fun enriching afternoons for families. Come for a short stay or for an hour and a half.

Trails lead around a pond, through the floodplain, over bridges crossing the creek and through upland field and forest. Wear long sleeved shirts and pants to protect legs. Good footwear is recommended. If it rains prior to field trip days, the floodplain may be wet and somewhat muddy.

The sanctuary recently expanded to 54 acres and protects the creek headwaters leading to Cedar Creek, Rogue River, Grand River, and Lake Michigan. This is a great open houseopportunity to explore Ody Brook Nature Sanctuary’s expansion. The privately owned and managed sanctuary accepts donation support and welcomes scheduled visits.